Michael Cohen Has Earned Our Support

I am writing to express my full support of our councilman, Michael Cohen, for a third term representing our community in Englewood. While it is true that I have known Michael for well over 20 years, that is not the reason I am supporting him, as this is not a popularity contest. I am supporting him because he has lowered our taxes, fought for what was right—because of his steadfast political independence—and had the courage to take on whomever necessary to protect our community. I am voting for Michael because he has done a great job for two terms and has truly earned our support for a third. Why fix something that isn’t broken?

Andrew Harary

Englewood

Michael Cohen Stands Up for the Community

Michael Cohen has stood up for our community time and time again regardless of the personal consequences. As our councilman, as the east coast director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, as our friend and neighbor he represents the kind of tireless, dedicated leadership that our community needs from our next generation. The fact that people in our own community have stooped to attacking him and his family in the most negative campaign I have ever seen should be embarrassing to us all. Our leaders should be like Michael, trying to build us all up, not like his opponent who is trying to win through character assassination and dirty political tricks. I give much credit to Michael in keeping his campaign clean and focused on the issues; I only wish for our community’s sake that his opponent would do the same. Englewood needs Michael Cohen and my family and I will be there on election day to support him.

Craig Solomon

Englewood

Michael Cohen Will Effect Change

Over his two terms in office as our councilman in Englewood, Michael Cohen has shown us all that things can really change in our city if we elect people who know how to change them. Michael has clearly demonstrated that experience matters when serving as a council member. Michael stopped out-of-control government spending and seriously impacted our property taxes for the better while expanding community services. The machine politicians are threatened by him, but I am proud to openly support his re-election. Our community in Englewood needs to tell Michael “Thank you for six years of dedicated service” by voting this coming Tuesday!

Frederick J. Horowitz

Englewood

We Must Stay Involved

My 15-year-old grandson, Yitzy Kopstick, chose to miss school on Wednesday, May 18, and my husband Len and I are so proud of him. Instead of taking his chemistry exam, Yitzy, along with his father Aron and his grandparents, joined over 1,000 people who attended the NORPAC 2016 Mission to Washington in an effort to meet with and reinforce our elected officials’ commitment to Israel.

During our long but satisfying day, our group, which included Mindy Stein and Dr. and Mrs. Brian Katz of Teaneck, listened to stirring speeches by John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Bob Menendez, each of whom spoke as true supporters and friends of Israel. Then we went on to meet privately with congressional aides and legislative assistants representing Congresswomen Loretta Sanchez of California and Kristi Noem of South Dakota. Our final and most inspiring visit was with Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, a true friend of Israel. Each member of our group brought up pressing issues to our hosts; our concerns about the U.S. continued security assistance to Israel, the need for our government to curtail Iran’s financing of terrorism and to ensure Iranian accountability, the threat of the ever-burgeoning BDS movement to demonize Israel, and opposing any efforts to bypass direct negotiations and impose an agreement through the United Nations or any other international bodies in the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

To be perfectly honest, the highlight of Yitzy’s day was probably the one-on-one, lengthy conversation with a convivial Senator Hoeven about school, sports and bison hunting. However, I am certain that once he has had time to reflect on what he saw and heard at NORPAC, he will have absorbed a most crucial life lesson shared by all attendees of the mission. As citizens of this great, democratic country, and lovers of Israel, we must use all of the facilities in our power and all of our strength to rally together and to speak out on issues that affect both our national and Zionistic interests. Sometimes, we must leave our safety nets of home and work and even school, to join together and speak out. We must always stay involved.

Estelle Glass

Teaneck

Jewish Organizations Need to Step Up

Where are the organizations who are supposed to help, protect and advance Jewish interests and values during this time of continual attacks in college and institutional settings? Attacks are occurring throughout the United States from coast to coast. Little is being done by Jewish organizations when more should be. One of the latest attacks was on the campus of the University of California at Irvine. Recently, the film “Beneath the Helmet” was disrupted by students from the Muslim Student Union and Students for Justice in Palestine, among others. As a result of the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish actions of these groups, the police had to be called to escort Jewish students away “for their own safety.” The school administration is “investigating” what went on in order to take appropriate actions, probably with as much effect as the results concerning the disruption of the speech by Ambassador Michael Oren.

Where is the ADL, Federation, Hillel and other pro-Jewish individuals or organizations pushing for the freedom of speech and protection of those seeking to screen this film and present pro-Israel programs? Why don’t they urge the prosecution of those preventing these programs in a court of law and not just college restrictions? Why are they willing to allow the administration, in this case, to take action when the university has proven in the past not to protect Jewish students and interests?

Students who have the knowledge to refute incorrect statements concerning Israel inside or outside of the classroom may be reluctant to do so for fear of academic retribution by their teachers or physical or verbal attacks by anti-Israel students. If Jewish students and faculty know that there are individuals or organizations willing to stand by them and if necessary go to court, they will be in a much better position to “spread the word” about Israel. They will be more willing and able to spread the facts and truths about Israel knowing that they have support. The only way to halt and turn back the growing anti-Israel information is for people to be aware of what is actually happening in Israel and not the misinformation by those against Israel. The time is long past due for pro-Israel Jewish organizations to take more active actions against Israel bashing. They must cease being so passive when it comes to attacks and actions against the things we hold dear. They must make it more uncomfortable for these anti groups to get away with their previous disruptions of pro-Israel forums.

Howard J. Cohn

New Milford